Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480

www.elsevier.com/locate/triboint

A review of vibration and acoustic measurement methods for the

detection of defects in rolling element bearings
a,* b
N. Tandon , A. Choudhury
a
ITMME Centre, Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi 110016, India
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Regional Engineering College, Silchar 788010, India

Received 5 May 1999; received in revised form 1 September 1999; accepted 12 October 1999

Abstract

A review of vibration and acoustic measurement methods for the detection of defects in rolling element bearings is presented in
this paper. Detection of both localized and distributed categories of defect has been considered. An explanation for the vibration
and noise generation in bearings is given. Vibration measurement in both time and frequency domains along with signal processing
techniques such as the high-frequency resonance technique have been covered. Other acoustic measurement techniques such as
sound pressure, sound intensity and acoustic emission have been reviewed. Recent trends in research on the detection of defects
in bearings, such as the wavelet transform method and automated data processing, have also been included. 2000 Elsevier Science
Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Rolling element bearings; Bearing defects; Condition monitoring; Vibrations; Acoustics

1. Introduction domains, the shock pulse method, sound pressure and

Rolling element bearings find widespread domestic
and industrial applications. Proper functioning of these
appliances depends, to a great extent, on the smooth and
quiet running of the bearings. In industrial applications,
these bearings are considered as critical mechanical
components and a defect in such a bearing, unless
detected in time, causes malfunction and may even lead
to catastrophic failure of the machinery. Defects in bear-
ings may arise during use or during the manufacturing
process. Therefore detection of these defects is important
for condition monitoring as well as quality inspection of
bearings. Different methods are used for detection and
diagnosis of bearing defects; they may be broadly classi-
fied as vibration and acoustic measurements, temperature
measurements and wear debris analysis. Among these,
vibration measurements are the most widely used. Sev-
eral techniques have been applied to measure the
vibration and acoustic responses from defective bear-
ings; i.e., vibration measurements in time and frequency
* Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +91-11-685-7658.
E-mail address: ntandon@itmmec.iitd.ernet.in (N. Tandon)
sound intensity techniques and the acoustic emission
method.
A lot of research work has been published, mostly in
the last two decades, on the detection and diagnosis of
bearing defects by vibration and acoustic methods. Some
of these works have also been reviewed by researchers.
Tandon and Nakra [1] presented a detailed review of the
different vibration and acoustic methods, such as
vibration measurements in time and frequency domains,
sound measurements, the shock pulse method and the
acoustic emission technique, for condition monitoring of
rolling bearings. Some of the vibration and wear debris
analysis techniques such as vibration, shock pulse, spike
energy, spectrographic oil analysis, ferrography and chip
detection have been reviewed by Kim and Lowe [2] with
a particular reference to railway freight cars. A brief
review of vibration monitoring techniques in time and
frequency domains and their results on rolling element
bearings have been presented by Mathew and Alfredson
[3]. McFadden and Smith [4] and Kim [5,6] have also
presented reviews on some specific techniques for con-
dition monitoring of rolling bearings. Therefore, the
objective of the present study is to update these reviews
by incorporating recent works and the advanced tech-
niques adopted in bearing defect detection.

0301-679X/99/$ - see front matter 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
PII: S 0 3 0 1 - 6 7 9 X ( 9 9 ) 0 0 0 7 7 - 8
470 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
2. Vibration and noise generation in bearings
Several studies [713] have been conducted to explain
the mechanism of vibration and noise generation in bear-
ings. Bearings act as a source of vibration and noise due
to either varying compliance or the presence of defects
in them. Radially loaded rolling element bearings gener-
ate vibrations even if they are geometrically perfect. This
is because of the use of a finite number of rolling
elements to carry the load. The number of rolling
elements and their position in the load zone change with
bearing rotation, giving rise to a periodical variation of
the total stiffness of the bearing assembly. This variation
of stiffness generates vibrations commonly known as
varying compliance vibrations [7,8]. When the bearing
races are assumed as continuous systems, the changing
direction of the contact forces applied by the rolling
elements may cause flexural or ring-mode vibration of
the races even if they are geometrically perfect [9,10].
However, the presence of a defect causes a significant
increase in the vibration level. Bearing defects may be
categorized as distributed or local. Distributed defects
include surface roughness, waviness, misaligned races
and off-size rolling elements [811]. The surface fea-
tures are considered in terms of their wavelength com-
pared with the Hertzian contact width of the rolling
element raceway contacts. Surface features of wave-
length of the order of the contact width or less are termed
roughness, whereas longer-wavelength features are
termed waviness [11]. Distributed defects are caused
by manufacturing error, improper installation or abrasive
wear [12,13]. The variation in contact force between
rolling elements and raceways due to distributed defects
results in an increased vibration level. The study of
vibration response due to this category of defect is,
therefore, important for quality inspection as well as
condition monitoring.
Localized defects include cracks, pits and spalls on
the rolling surfaces. The dominant mode of failure of
rolling element bearings is spalling of the races or the
rolling elements, caused when a fatigue crack begins
below the surface of the metal and propagates towards
the surface until a piece of metal breaks away to leave
a small pit or spall. Fatigue failure may be expedited
by overloading or shock loading of the bearings during
running and installation [13]. Electric pitting or cracks
due to excessive shock loading are also among the differ-
ent types of bearing damage described in the literature
[1317]. Whenever a local defect on an element interacts
with its mating element, abrupt changes in the contact
stresses at the interface result which generates a pulse
of very short duration. This pulse produces vibration and
noise which can be monitored to detect the presence of
a defect in the bearing.
3. Vibration response due to localized defects
Two approaches have been adopted by researchers for
creating localized defects on bearings to study their
vibration response. One is to run the bearing until failure
and monitor the changes in their vibration response
[5,1822]. Usually the failure is accelerated by either
overloading, overspeeding or starving the bearings of
lubricants [5,21,22]. The other approach is to intention-
ally introduce defects in the bearings by techniques such
as acid etching, spark erosion, scratching or mechanical
indentation, measure their vibration response and com-
pare it with that of good bearings [2334]. In some of
these studies the size of the simulated defects has been
quantified and varied [26,2933]. The former approach
of life tests is quite time-consuming. On the other hand,
the testing of bearings with simulated defects is much
quicker but preparation of the defective bearings requires
special techniques.
Several techniques have been applied to measure and
analyse the vibration response of bearings with localized
defects. These techniques are not totally independent;
rather, in many cases, they are complementary to one
another.
3.1. Time-domain approach
The simplest approach in the time domain is to
measure the overall root-mean-square (RMS) level and
crest factor, i.e., the ratio of peak value to RMS value of
acceleration. This method has been applied with limited
success for the detection of localized defects [30,32].
Some statistical parameters such as probability density
and kurtosis have been proposed for bearing defect
detection [35,36]. The probability density of acceleration
of a bearing in good condition has a Gaussian distri-
bution, whereas a damaged bearing results in non-Gaus-
sian distribution with dominant tails because of a relative
increase in the number of high levels of acceleration
[35]. However, Mathew and Alfredson [3] have reported
obtaining a near-Gaussian distribution for some dam-
aged bearings also. Instead of studying the probability
density curves, it is often more informative to examine
the statistical moments of the data, defined as
Mx xnP(x) dx n1, 2, 3, , m, (1)
where P(x) is the probability density function of instan-
taneous amplitude x. The first and second moments are
well known, being the mean value and the variance,
respectively. The third moment normalized with respect
to the cube of standard deviation is known as the coef-
ficient of skewness. The fourth moment, normalized
with respect to the fourth power of standard deviation,
 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
is quite useful. This is called kurtosis and is given by
the expression
(xx)4P(x) dx
kurtosis, b2 , (2)
s4
where x is the mean.
Dyer and Stewart [36] first proposed the use of kur-
tosis for bearing defect detection. For an undamaged
bearing with Gaussian distribution, the kurtosis value is
close to 3. A value greater than 3 is judged by itself to be
an indication of impending failure and no prior history is
required. However, one disadvantage is that the kurtosis
value comes down to the level of an undamaged bearing
(i.e., 3) when the damage is well advanced. Therefore,
it has been suggested to measure kurtosis in selected fre-
quency bands [36]. White [37] studied the effectiveness
of this method under a simulated condition. Several
other studies [27,28,34,36,38] have also shown the effec-
tiveness of kurtosis in bearing defect detection but in
some cases [3,5,40] the method could not detect the
incipient damage effectively. Kurtosis has not become a
very popular method in industry for the condition moni-
toring of bearings.
Local defects can also be detected in the time domain
by displaying the vibration signal on an oscilloscope or
plotting it on a chart recorder and observing the presence
of periodic peaks due to impact of the rolling element
with the defects [26,29,40,41]. Gustafsson and Tallian
[40] proposed a method of defect detection based on the
number of peaks crossing a preset voltage level.
Some bandpass filtering techniques have also been
proposed in the time domain. The principle is based on
the fact that structural resonances are excited in the high-
frequency zone due to impulsive loading caused, for
example, from spalling of the races or rolling elements
and can be detected by a transducer whose resonant fre-
quency is tuned to it. The shock pulse method [42],
which works on this principle, uses a piezoelectric trans-
ducer having a resonant frequency based at 32 kHz
(some instruments based on resonant frequency around
100 kHz have also been used). The shock pulses caused
by the impacts in the bearings initiate damped oscil-
lations in the transducer at its resonant frequency.
Measurement of the maximum value of the damped tran-
sient gives an indication of the condition of rolling bear-
ings. Low-frequency vibrations in the machine, gener-
ated by sources other than rolling bearings, are
electronically filtered out. The shock pulse value gener-
ated by good bearings due to surface roughness has been
found empirically to be dependent upon the bearing bore
diameter and speed. This value, called the initial value,
is subtracted from the shock value of the test bearing to
obtain a normalized shock pulse value. The maximum
471
normalized shock value is a measure of the bearing con-
dition. Shock pulse meters are simple to use so that semi-
skilled personnel can operate them. They give a single
value indicating the condition of the bearing straight-
away, without the need for elaborate data interpretation
as required in some other methods.
The shock pulse method has gained wide industrial
acceptance and has been reported to be successful in the
detection of rolling element bearing defects
[3,5,34,39,43]. Some investigators [31,44,45] have
reported that the method could not effectively detect
defects at low speeds. However, Butler [43] has reported
success of the shock pulse method in the detection of
defects in low-speed spherical roller bearings in a paper
production line. An on-line bearing condition monitoring
technique based on the shock pulse method has been
suggested by Morando [46].
3.2. Frequency-domain approach
Frequency-domain or spectral analysis of the vibration
signal is perhaps the most widely used approach of bear-
ing defect detection. The advent of modern fast Fourier
transform (FFT) analysers has made the job of obtaining
narrowband spectra easier and more efficient. Both low-
and high-frequency ranges of the vibration spectrum are
of interest in assessing the condition of the bearing.
The interaction of defects in rolling element bearings
produces pulses of very short duration whenever the
defect strikes or is struck owing to the rotational motion
of the system. These pulses excite the natural fre-
quencies of bearing elements and housing structures,
resulting in an increase in the vibrational energy at these
high frequencies. The resonant frequencies of the indi-
vidual bearing elements can be calculated theoretically
[1,47,48].
It is difficult to estimate how these resonances are
affected on assembly into a full bearing and mounting
in a housing. However, it is indicated [24] that reson-
ances are not altered significantly. These natural fre-
quencies are usually more than 5 kHz [1]. Therefore,
monitoring the increase in the level of vibrations in the
high-frequency range of the spectrum is an effective
method of predicting the condition of rolling element
bearings and has been used successfully by several
investigators [3,21,23,24,26]. Catlin [49] has indicated
that the natural frequency for which the wavelength
closely matches the pulse length, is most strongly
excited. Several parameters such as arithmetic mean,
geometric mean and correlation have been suggested
[50,51] to quantify the differences in spectra for good
bearings and damaged bearings.
Each bearing element has a characteristic rotational
frequency. With a defect on a particular bearing element,
an increase in vibrational energy at this elements
rotational frequency may occur. These characteristic
472 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
defect frequencies can be calculated from kinematic con-
siderations; i.e., the geometry of the bearing and its
rotational speed [1,23,26,40,52,53]. For a bearing with
a stationary outer race, these frequencies are given by
the following expressions:
ws d by the variation of the impact period and the intermodu-
cage frequency, wc 1 cos a , (3)
2 D
Dws d2
ball spinning frequency, wb 1 2 cos2 a , (4)
2d D ithmic power spectrum [35]. Tandon [33] has reported
outer race defect frequency, wodZwc
Zws d In order to improve the signal-to-noise ratio and make
1 cos a , (5)
2d D the spectral analysis more effective, some signal pro-
inner race defect frequency, widZ(wswc)
2
Zws d
1 cos a
D (6)
and
rolling element defect frequency, wre2wb
D
d2
ws 1 2 cos a2 ,
d D (7)
where ws is the shaft rotation frequency in rad/s, d is the
diameter of the rolling element, D is the pitch diameter,
Z is the number of rolling elements and a is the con-
tact angle.
For normal speeds, these defect frequencies lie in the
low-frequency range and are usually less than 500 Hz.
In practice, however, these frequencies may be slightly
different from the calculated values as a consequence of
slipping or skidding in the rolling element bearings [53].
Several researchers [24,26,27,32,54,55] have reported
success in bearing defect detection by identifying these
rotational frequencies. It has also been observed
[24,26,27,32] that, in case of a defect on a moving
element such as the inner race or a rolling element, the
spectrum has sidebands about the components at charac-
teristic defect frequencies. A typical spectrum [32] due
to an inner race defect is shown in Fig. 1. The sidebands
have been attributed to the time-related changes in defect
position relative to the vibration measuring position [26].
Tandon and Choudhury [56] have derived expressions
for frequencies and relative amplitudes of the various
spectral lines based on the flexural vibration of races due
to a localized defect on one of the bearing elements.
In some work [23,57,58], it has been mentioned that
it is difficult to obtain a significant peak at these fre-
quencies in the direct spectrum obtained from a defective
bearing. This is due to the fact that noise or vibration
from other sources masks the vibration signal from the
bearing unless the defect is sufficiently large. Tandon
and Nakra [32] have also found that direct spectral
analysis can detect defects of comparatively larger sizes
only. Ray [45] highlighted the condition under which
bearing defect detection becomes difficult.
Osuagwu and Thomas [57] have suggested an expla-
nation for the absence of defect frequencies in the spec-
trum in terms of the average and shift effect produced
lation effect. In this study the power cepstrum was
shown to be an effective diagnostic technique. Power
cepstrum is defined as the power spectrum of the logar-
that cepstrum can detect outer race defects effectively
but failed to detect inner race defects.
cessing techniques have been reported. Braun and Datner
[59] have suggested signal decomposition into periodic
components and a processing method based on averag-
ing techniques. The adaptive noise cancelling (ANC)
technique has also been proposed to improve the signal-
to-noise ratio in bearing fault diagnosis [60]. Envelope
detection or the high-frequency resonance technique
(HFRT) is an important signal processing technique
which helps in the identification of bearing defects by
extracting characteristic defect frequencies (which may
not be present in the direct spectrum) from the vibration
signal of the defective bearing. A review of the tech-
nique has been presented by McFadden and Smith [4].
Each time a defect strikes its mating element, a pulse of
short duration is generated that excites the resonances
periodically at the characteristic frequency related to the
defect location. The resonances are thus amplitude-
modulated at the characteristic defect frequency. By
demodulating one of these resonances, a signal indica-
tive of the bearing condition can be recovered. In prac-
tice, the signal is bandpass-filtered around one of the
resonant frequencies, thus eliminating most of the
unwanted vibration signals from other sources. This
bandpass-filtered signal is then demodulated by an
envelope detector in which the signal is rectified and
smoothed by low-pass filtering to eliminate the carrier
or bandpass-filtered resonant frequency. The spectrum of
the envelope signal in the low-frequency range is then
obtained to get the characteristic defect frequency of the
bearing. The process of extraction of demodulated spec-
tra by the high-frequency resonance technique is shown
in Fig. 2.
This technique has been used extensively and its suc-
cess has been demonstrated by several investigators
[23,25,3032,6180]. A single-mode vibration model
has been developed by McFadden and Smith [6264] to
explain the appearance of various spectral lines owing
to different defect locations in the demodulated spec-
trum. They have suggested that the sidebands around the
defect frequency are a result of the modulation of carrier
frequency by loading and transmission path. This model
 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480 473

Fig. 1. A typical spectrum obtained from a rolling element bearing with an inner race defect.

Fig. 2. The process of extraction of demodulated spectra by HFRT.

474 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
has been extended by Su and Lin [79] to characterize
the vibrations of bearings subjected to various loadings.
Martin and Thorpe [80] have suggested normalization
of the envelope-detected frequency spectra of the faulty
bearing with respect to the healthy bearing to give
greater sensitivity to the detection of defect frequencies.
The limitation of this technique is that, with advanced
damage, the defect frequencies may become submerged
in the rising background level of the spectrum [4,74].
This may happen due to the reduced severity of impacts
which are generated so frequently that the leading edge
of the impact is buried in the decay of the previous
impact [4]. However, Burgess [74] argues that this is
because of the reduced difference in amplitudes of the
random noise floor and the defect peak heights, which
also become random as the defect progresses.
In recent years, the wavelet transform method has
been suggested by some researchers [8183] to extract
very weak signals for which FFT becomes ineffective.
Wavelet transform provides a variable-resolution time
frequency distribution from which periodic structural
ringing due to repetitive force impulses, generated upon
the passing of each rolling element over the defect, are
detected. The adaptive timefrequency resolution makes
it superior vis-a-vis FFT. Mori et al. [83] proposed a
discrete wavelet transform theory which can detect a
defect even at pre-spalling stage.
3.3. Proximity transducer technique
The literature discussed so far has mostly considered
casing-mounted transducers such as accelerometers and
velocity pick-up for the measurement of vibration. Some
researchers have also used non-contact type displace-
ment or proximity transducers for condition monitoring
of rolling element bearings. In these studies, the trans-
ducer senses the displacement of the outer race directly
as the rolling elements pass under it. Thus the extraneous
vibrations of the housing structure are reduced or elimin-
ated and the signal-to-noise ratio is improved. However,
the installation of these probes is difficult as it not only
involves drilling and tapping of the bearing housing but
also fine adjustment of the gap between the probe and
the outer race, which can change due to such conditions
as vibration, dirt and thermal expansion. This monitoring
technique is popularly known as REBAM (Rolling
Element Bearing Activity Monitor).
Philips and associates [8486] first reported the use
of this technique. They used a fibre optic sensor to
measure the elastic deformation of the outer ring. Philips
[86] has also introduced the concept of ball speed ratio
(BSR), which has been found to be a good parameter
for bearing performance monitoring. Harker and Hansen
[87] used a high-gain eddy current transducer and
reported case histories for rotating machinery health
monitoring using this technique. REBAM has been
found to be effective in bearing defect detection in some
other studies as well [34,88]. Kim [6,8991] has applied
this technique to a radially loaded deep groove ball bear-
ing. He has reported an effective diagnostic method for
outer and inner race damage to predict the angular
location of the damaged spots. He also suggested that
this technique, coupled with HFRT, will be very effec-
tive for fault detection in rolling element bearings [91].
3.4. Automated diagnostic system
The techniques discussed above need a human
interpreter to analyse the results. However, the amount
of data collected from modern instruments may be so
vast that an automated system providing concise and
reliable assessment of the machinery condition becomes
necessary. This is equally true for rolling element bear-
ings.
In 1989, Li and Wu [92] proposed a monitoring
scheme based on pattern recognition. The technique
employs short-time-signal processing techniques to
extract useful features from bearing vibration to be used
by a pattern classifier to detect and diagnose the defect.
To overcome the shortcomings of this method, bispectral
analysis of vibration has been applied to detect the pres-
ence of the characteristic defect frequency and its har-
monics [93]. The pattern recognition technique is then
applied to classify the condition of a bearing based on
its bicoherence. An automatic fault diagnosis system for
ball bearings, based on processing of time-domain signa-
tures and a pattern recognition technique, has also been
reported [94].
In recent times, artificial neural networks have
emerged as a popular tool for signal processing and pat-
tern classification tasks, and are suitable for condition
monitoring programs. An artificial neural network can
be defined as a mathematical model of the human brain
and has the ability to learn to solve a problem, rather
than having to be preprogrammed with a precise algor-
ithm. Baillie and Mathew [95] proposed a model based
on a neural network for fault detection in rolling element
bearings. The system consists of a collection of para-
metric time-series models, one for each class of bearing
fault to be identified, based on a back-propagation neural
network. This time-domain-based model has the advan-
tage that the diagnosis can be performed using very short
data lengths and is suitable for application in slow- and
variable-speed machinery. However, the main drawback
is that the model cannot handle very large data without
misclassifying the fault. To overcome this shortcoming,
they have proposed to present the vibration data to the
neural network in the frequency domain [96] and have
also proposed that characteristic defect frequencies can
be used for classification of faults. In separate research
[97], a neural bearing analyser model has been
 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
developed taking only certain areas of the vibration spec-
trum and using a back-propagation network.
4. Vibration response due to distributed defects
As discussed earlier, distributed defects include sur-
face irregularities like roughness, waviness or off-size
rolling elements. The vibration response for these defects
has been studied mostly in the frequency domain.
Vibration produced by surface roughness or shorter-
wavelength features has been studied by Sayles and
Poon [98] and is found to be significant only when the
asperities break through the lubricant film and contact
the opposing surface. However, longer-wavelength fea-
tures (waviness) or varying rolling element diameter
have a more dominant effect on the vibration level. The
frequency limit in which waviness produces a significant
vibration level has been assessed [11,99] and is found
to be below 60 times the rotational speed.
Systematic studies of vibration produced by waviness
were first made by Tallian and Gustafsson [8]. The five-
degree-of-freedom motion of the outer race con-
sidered as a body which is rigid except for the contact
deformations was analysed with a linearized dynamic
model. The waviness orders of major importance have
been assessed and are found to have a simple numerical
relationship with the number of rolling elements. Meyer
et al. [9] proposed an analytical model for flexural
vibration of the stationary race under axial load due to
waviness on the moving race or unequal ball diameter.
The amplitudes of the important frequency components
have also been predicted in the model. The model was
extended later by Choudhury and Tandon [10] for radi-
ally loaded rolling bearings. Vibration forces produced
by axially loaded angular contact ball bearings under the
influence of waviness on various bearing elements have
been studied by Wardle [100]. He considered an
additional mass (housing) attached to the stationary outer
ring. Analytical results for radial and axial vibrations
have been verified experimentally [101]. A linear model
has been proposed by Yhland [102] for vibration of the
shaft bearing system due to form errors. Waviness orders
of major importance for the vibration response of a
tapered roller bearing have been investigated experimen-
tally by Ohta and Sugimoto [103]. Sunnersjo [12] has
studied the vibration of a radially loaded bearing due to
inner race waviness or varying roller diameter, and
found the significant peaks to occur at harmonics of shaft
and cage speed, respectively, with a sideband spaced at
roller passage frequency in the case of inner race wav-
iness. Similar cage harmonics have been observed by
Hine [104] for circumferential ball diameter variation in
the bearing of a turbopump in the main engine of a space
shuttle. The effects of surface irregularities have also
been investigated [105,106] to explain the spectral lines
475
observed in the demodulated spectra of a normal tapered
roller bearing.
Since many of the frequencies resulting from distrib-
uted defects coincide with those due to localized defects,
it becomes difficult to identify from frequency infor-
mation alone whether a peak at a particular frequency is
due to a localized or a distributed defect. Therefore, it
has been suggested [107,108] that, in addition to fre-
quency information, the amplitudes of the spectral
components should also be studied for defective bear-
ings.
Some studies [109111] have also been carried out to
estimate the roughness or waviness of the races or the
balls in bearings by vibration analysis. Laser Doppler
vibrometry has been proposed for surface profile
measurements in rolling bearings [112].
5. Acoustic emission response from defective
bearings
Acoustic emission (AE) is the phenomenon of transi-
ent elastic wave generation due to a rapid release of
strain energy caused by a structural alteration in a solid
material under mechanical or thermal stresses. Gener-
ation and propagation of cracks, growth of twins, etc.
associated with plastic deformation are among the pri-
mary sources of AE. Hence it is an important tool for
condition monitoring through non-destructive testing.
AE instrumentation consists of a transducer, mostly of
the piezoelectric type, a preamplifier and a signal-pro-
cessing unit. The transducers, which have very high
natural frequency, have a resonant-type response. The
bandwidth of the AE signal can also be controlled by
using a suitable filter in the preamplifier. The most com-
monly measured AE parameters are ringdown counts,
events and peak amplitude of the signal. These are dem-
onstrated on a typical AE signal shown in Fig. 3. Ring-
down counts involve counting the number of times the
amplitude exceeds a preset voltage level (threshold
level) in a given time and gives a simple number charac-
teristic of the signal. An event consists of a group of
ringdown counts and signifies a transient wave. The
advantage of acoustic emission monitoring over
vibration monitoring is that the former can detect the
growth of subsurface cracks, whereas the latter can
detect defects only when they appear on the surface. It
is also important to note that the energy released by
neighbouring components in the vibrational frequency
range (up to 50 kHz), which often masks the vibrational
energy released from a defective rolling element bearing,
do not affect the AE signal released in the very high
frequency range.
Several studies have been conducted to investigate the
AE response of defective bearings. In the case of AE
monitoring of local defects also, two approaches of life
476 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
Fig. 3. A typical acoustic emission burst signal.
tests [113117] and simulated defects [118120] have
been adopted by researchers. In 1979, Rogers [121] sug-
gested the application of acoustic emission as a measure
of the condition of slow-speed anti-friction bearings of
slewing cranes in offshore gas production platforms.
Yoshioka and Fujiwara [113,114] have shown that AE
parameters can detect defects before they appear in the
vibration acceleration range and can also detect the poss-
ible sources of AE generation during a fatigue life test of
thrust ball bearings. They also measured the propagation
initiation time of cracks and the propagation time until
flaking occurs by a combination of AE parameters and
vibration acceleration [115]. The source locator system
was also improved later by introducing two AE sensors
in the system and measuring the difference of arrival
times of acoustic emission signals at the sensors
[116,117]. Acoustic emission signals have been shown
to detect defects in the form of a fine scratch on the
inner race of axially loaded angular contact ball bearings
but at low speeds only [44,118]. Tandon and Nakra [119]
have demonstrated the usefulness of some acoustic emis-
sion parameters, such as peak amplitude and count, for
the detection of defects in radially loaded ball bearings
at low and normal speeds. The distribution of events by
counts and peak amplitude has also been used for quality
inspection of bearings to judge whether the bearing is a
new or regenerated one [122]. Tan [123] has suggested
that the measurement of area under the amplitudetime
curve is a preferred method for defect detection in rolling
element bearings. He also applied the adaptive noise
cancellation technique to filter out background AE noise
emitted by other machine components [124]. The useful-
ness of demodulated AE signals in detecting defects in
rolling element bearings has been demonstrated by some
researchers [120,125127].
6. Acoustic noise response
Measurement of acoustic noise can also be used for
the detection of defects in rolling element bearings.
These measurements are normally carried out in two
modes: sound pressure and sound intensity. Sound press-
ure generated by good bearings has been studied by sev-
eral researchers [128131], but very little literature is
available on sound measurements as a defect detection
technique. Igarashi and Yabe [132] have shown the use-
fulness of sound pressure measurement for the detection
of defects in axially loaded ball bearings. The role of
surface irregularities in the production of noise in rolling
contact has been studied with the help of sound pressure
measurement [133].
Sound intensity measurement, a comparatively recent
technique, has also been tried successfully for the detec-
tion of defects in rolling element bearings [5]. Sound
intensity is defined as the time-averaged rate of flow of
sound energy through unit area. Unlike sound pressure,
it is a vector quantity and the two-microphone intensity
probe has directional characteristics. Sound intensity in
the frequency domain can be obtained from the imagin-
 N. Tandon, A. Choudhury / Tribology International 32 (1999) 469480
ary part of the cross-spectrum between the signals of
two closely spaced microphones [134]. A special two-
microphone probe is used for intensity measurements.
The imaginary part of the cross-spectrum can be
obtained directly using a dual-channel FFT analyser.
Tandon and Nakra [135] have shown the usefulness of
sound intensity measurement as a bearing diagnostic
technique and have concluded that, for this purpose, it
is more effective than sound pressure measurement.
Spectral analysis of demodulated signals received by a
sound meter has been suggested as a monitoring tool for
wayside detection of railroad roller bearing defects
[136].
The detectability of defects by sound measurement
may be affected by sources other than bearing noise
unless adequate precautions are taken to isolate the lat-
ter. A partial or full acoustic enclosure lined with sound-
absorbing material is usually constructed around the test
bearing for this purpose. Design of such anechoic
chambers has also been discussed in the literature
[133,137].
7. Conclusions
From a review of studies on vibration and acoustic
measurement techniques for the detection of defects in
rolling element bearings, it is seen that the emphasis is
on vibration measurement methods. Although literature
is available for the detection of both localized and dis-
tributed defects, the former has drawn the attention of a
greater number of researchers. Vibration in the time
domain can be measured through parameters such as
overall RMS level, crest factor, probability density and
kurtosis. Among these, kurtosis is the most effective.
The shock pulse method has also gained wide indus-
trial acceptance.
Vibration measurement in the frequency domain has
the advantage that it can detect the location of the defect.
However, the direct vibration spectrum from a defective
bearing may not indicate the defect at the initial stage.
Some signal processing techniques are, therefore, used.
The high-frequency resonance technique is the most
popular of these and has been successfully applied by
several researchers. For this technique, the procedure of
signal processing is well established and a good expla-
nation of the resultant demodulated spectrum is also
available. The method has a disadvantage that advanced
damage is difficult to detect by this method. In recent
years, the wavelet transform method has been suggested
to extract very weak signals for which Fourier transform
becomes ineffective.
Very few studies have been carried out on acoustic
noise measurements for the detection of bearing defects.
Measurements of both sound pressure and sound inten-
sity have been used for this purpose. The sound intensity
477
technique seems to be better than sound pressure
measurements for bearing diagnostics.
Acoustic emission measurements have also been used
successfully for detecting defects in rolling element
bearings. Some studies indicate that these measurements
are better than vibration measurements and can detect a
defect even before it appears on the surface. Demodu-
lation of AE signals for bearing defect detection has also
been suggested.
In recent years, attention has also been focused on the
automated interpretation of data for bearing diagnostics.
The pattern recognition technique and neural networks
have been applied to data obtained from vibration
measurements in both time and frequency domains for
the detection of defects in rolling element bearings.
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